Objective assessments indicate that extreme heat is increasing health risks; however, many of the most exposed populations do not perceive extreme heat as risky. This misperception may undermine public awareness of the need for effective cooling strategies, leaving a dangerous blind spot in adaptation and protection.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Manware, M. et al. GeoHealth 6, e2022GH000695 (2022).
Howe, P. D., Marlon, J. R., Wang, X. & Leiserowitz, A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 6743–6748 (2019).
Keul, A. G. et al. Weather Clim. Soc. 10, 501–520 (2018).
Rauf, S. et al. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 24, 10630–10639 (2017).
Guzman-Colon, B. et al. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 22, 1197 (2025).
Jones, L. & d’Errico, M. World Dev. 124, 104632 (2019).
Balžekienė, A., Telešienė, A. & Morkevičius, V. Sustainability 14, 3716 (2022).
Taylor, N. A. S. Compr. Physiol. 4, 325–365 (2014).
Wickham, K. A., Wallace, P. J. & Cheung, S. S. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 121, 353–367 (2021).
Vecellio, D. J., Kong, Q., Kenney, W. L. & Huber, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2305427120 (2023).
Cannings, L., Hutton, C. W., Sorichetta, A. & Nilsen, K. Front. Psychol. 15, 1401480 (2024).
Li, Z. & Konisky, D. M. Rev. Policy Res. 40, 119–152 (2023).
Siegrist, M. & Sütterlin, B. Risk Anal. 34, 1482–1494 (2014).
Klausen, S. H. et al. Philos. Psychol. 35, 253–278 (2022).
Trumbo, C. et al. Risk Anal. 34, 1013–1024 (2014).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 42225707, 42522713 and 42507632).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, Y., Liu, G., Li, Y. et al. Misalignment between objective and perceived heat risks. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 1261–1263 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02505-9
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02505-9